Hey bro, I just went through the process of replacing mine cause it looked tacky and was annoying me just sittin there opened, lol.
One of your questions wenr unanswered..and that was regarding the latch itself. I dont know the technical term for it but it almost like a catch and release and prolly could be doctored up to work with a home repair remedy. It doesnt matter how it looks when done as its an item never seen (the latch).

It's worth diggin down to get to if you have an hour or so to fool with it.

Let me know if you have any questions about removing your console.

Kevin